9 minutes ago, Dave_Hicks said:

Any strobe that is going to be packed for Flying should definitely have batteries removed. The risk of it turning on while packed is non-zero and could have very bad results. Drained batteries, overheating, even fires. Don't risk it. 

 

I agree with Dave. Why take the risk?

I pack my strobes in a backpack with separate compartments, so there’s no way they can turn on by accident. Also, leaving them turned on won’t ever cause a fire, the worst that can happen is more or less subtle battery damage. The user manual doesn’t know how each person packs their gear, so it recommends removing the batteries just to be safe.

Just remembered a small trick that works for all Retra Flash models except the first generation, in case you're worried about your strobe turning on during travel. If you set the dial to SOS mode, it takes five clicks to reach BATT/TEST for the strobe to turn on. So, switch it to SOS and install the batteries. If your packing somehow allows the dial to turn five clicks on its own, let me know. I'll send a mermaid to bring you new batteries 😄

I often travel with batteries in some flashlights and other devices.  I use expired DAN cards that I cut into discs the size of the device opening / battery diameter, and place those between the positive end of the battery and the device contact.  There is no possibility of powering the device or draining the battery.  The little plastic discs are thin enough not to interfere in reassembly of the flashlight and I will often not fully tighten the flashlight head just to be extra sure there is no undo pressure on the device contact..

 

This is basically the same as manufacturers placing those little plastic tabs on installed batteries on products you buy.

I don’t recommend placing anything between the battery contacts. The tolerances are quite tight, and even something slightly too thick could cause permanent damage. Finding spare AA batteries on location is usually doable, but replacing damaged contact boards is a whole different story. I understand you might be careful and avoid over-tightening but someone else handling the gear might not.

To chime in

1. no need to use Enelopes - Ikea's Ladda 2450mAh work perfectly, priced at less than $10/4pc and did you know they are made in Japan? (do your own research re: NiMH quality based on factory locations)

2. I always transport and store Retra without batteries to prevent contacts spring board fatigue (see point 3) and also to make the carry on lighter if needed. I learned to use fanny pack for all my batteries (24AA for strobes - always charge spare 8 on liveaboards and change one strobe between dives if needed, then camera, lights and monitor batteries) and if I sense problem I just put these extra 2kg on my waist :-)

3. I had my fair share of issues with contact boards as my strobes (Retra Pro X with superchargers) experienced loss of power. I just couldn't swith them on. First I thought these were fatigued terminals and when I tried to spring them back off course I broke them - NEVER do this (!!). So I bought like 4 extra contact boards from Retra. But the issue could have been - all this time - oxidized contact pins inside of the main body. Because when I couldn't start the strobe last time I had quite fresh contact board so I thought this could not have been the issue - I checked the pins inside and sure enough one of them look not ok so I scratched it with flat screwdriver and voila - the strobe was starting again

4. @Oskar - Retra UWT - because we all use these strobes in oxidation happy environment and these pins inside are so difficult to reach would it be a good idea to come up with some sort of tool better then the flat scredriwer as the pins are rounded... Although if future strobes will be Lion acc powered it may not be an issue anymore.

1 hour ago, RomiK said:

I checked the pins inside and sure enough one of them look not ok so I scratched it with flat screwdriver and voila - the strobe was starting again

I had this problem a couple of times with Inon Z220s or Z240s. As you say, darn tricky to get at them to clean.

13 minutes ago, TimG said:

I had this problem a couple of times with Inon Z220s or Z240s. As you say, darn tricky to get at them to clean.

Wrap sandpaper around the end of a chopstick or pencil with a rubber band. Works great.

Weird - I've had gate agents demand that I turn on the strobes to make certain they were strobes and not something nefarious. If I didn't keep a set of NiMh AA IN the strobes while travelling I'd have had a lot of explaining to do about a topic that is very alien to most other people.

The new generation "superchargers" are small and a flat plastic pack of 8 batteries is super easy to slip into a roller bag. I wouldnt even think to dive the Retra Pro Max without 8 AA in there, especially as I can get 3-6 dives (1-2days) out of them without concerns about strobe power.

One related topic I haven't noticed discussed in this thread that can significantly influence = battery maintenance.
First: Keeping battery sets together in groups of 4.
I cannot recall who recommended the idea, but for the past 20+ years I've always grouped and labeled my AA in sets of 4. They always stay together as a set.
Next: Some chargers are not optimal.
I now travel with 2x Panasonic brand 4 spot AA chargers (Panasonic BQ-CC65AKBBA). Sure, it's a bit of a pain to have to check on batteries in a camera room, but two runs of the chargers and I'm done for the day. Also, I've noticed the Panasonic brand do not overheat the rechargeables - an issue I started having with several (very expensive) Powerex Maha chargers [Ruined 3 sets of Eneloop Pro and several Energizer rechargeable C size = swollen until the labels split off!]. The USB-C type chargers also get AA a bit hotter to the touch than I'd personally like.

In general, the battery contacts and compartment have gotten slightly improved with each generation. On the 4th generation Pro Max strobes, we rarely see issues unless the compartment gets seriously flooded, which is very uncommon. For cleaning the contacts, I recommend using wooden chopsticks or any small wooden tool. Wood is soft enough not to damage the contacts but still effective at cleaning, and it's usually easy to find anywhere. Many photographers also use a fiberglass pen.

On 4/15/2025 at 3:57 AM, Oskar - Retra UWT said:

I don’t recommend placing anything between the battery contacts. The tolerances are quite tight, and even something slightly too thick could cause permanent damage. Finding spare AA batteries on location is usually doable, but replacing damaged contact boards is a whole different story. I understand you might be careful and avoid over-tightening but someone else handling the gear might not.

Good to know. I will not do this with the Retra. Previously I have always traveled with them without batteries. I will look at the SOS mode as you suggested earlier.